Kaveri & Aero-Engine: News & Discussion

The Military Issues & History Forum is a venue to discuss issues relating to the military aspects of the Indian Armed Forces, whether the past, present or future. We request members to kindly stay within the mandate of this forum and keep their exchanges of views, on a civilised level, however vehemently any disagreement may be felt. All feedback regarding forum usage may be sent to the moderators using the Feedback Form or by clicking the Report Post Icon in any objectionable post for proper action. Please note that the views expressed by the Members and Moderators on these discussion boards are that of the individuals only and do not reflect the official policy or view of the Bharat-Rakshak.com Website. Copyright Violation is strictly prohibited and may result in revocation of your posting rights - please read the FAQ for full details. Users must also abide by the Forum Guidelines at all times.
Post Reply
SaiK
BRF Oldie
Posts: 36424
Joined: 29 Oct 2003 12:31
Location: NowHere

Re: Kaveri & aero-engine discussion

Post by SaiK »

agree, and at the same time, we can't let this puppy go by without corrections, where possible.

another issue is, if X walked in 10 months, I can allow Y walk in X+Y months. But we need that Y months well defined., giving all factors into considerations. Beyond a certain limit.. and once it goes into babooze hands.. jee, I can't imagine a jet engine decision done by baboo hands.

the reason, we need our special task force enaged on this, and ask for extra money on Kaveri++.

We need to do begin the Kaveri-100kN wala [cause, I consider testing at grumov is a walk by Kaveri].. we have learnt to walk.. we have corrected the limbs.. but the lessor learned here, imho, is GTRE was a bad parent.. it let an autistic kid to grow all by itself..without doing certain things in time [not technical aspects alone]... more from the engineering aspect - requirements, rating, thrust requirements, technology and materials needed. etc. it is a big project, and they just accepted what babooze gave them money. they think, they can create a magic. no please!.. it requires time, money, energy and efforts. It requires top notch people to work on this puppy.

We can't let the core engine be made with firang collaboration. We have to do it by ourselves is my point of view.. for this, we need to do something to GTRE. money+management.. just like dr.saraswat leadership is needed.
Indranil
Forum Moderator
Posts: 8428
Joined: 02 Apr 2010 01:21

Re: Kaveri & aero-engine discussion

Post by Indranil »

Seems like HAL may be contemplating designing and developing A 20 kT engine for

Military Trainer
Light Commercial Transport Aircraft
Business Jets / Private Jets
Military Transport aircraft
Light Compact aircraft
UAV / UCAV
Reconnaissance Drones

Go to page 3
SaiK
BRF Oldie
Posts: 36424
Joined: 29 Oct 2003 12:31
Location: NowHere

Re: Kaveri & aero-engine discussion

Post by SaiK »

^ from the link:
problem:-
Russian designed thermostat in the ARK-10 radio
compass unit became unreliable and difficult to
maintain due to chattering of contacts. The units are
unserviceable and the numbers of units for repair are
piling up day by day leading to alarming situation.
solution:-
SLRDC Engineers took up the challenge to resolve
the issue and successfully designed a suitable alternate
temperature control mechanism using readily available
Aerospace grade bi-metallic thermostats from
Honeywell.
Just wondering about the challenge here.
khukri
BRFite
Posts: 169
Joined: 28 Oct 2002 12:31

Re: Kaveri & aero-engine discussion

Post by khukri »

Cybaru
BRF Oldie
Posts: 2911
Joined: 12 Jun 2000 11:31
Contact:

Re: Kaveri & aero-engine discussion

Post by Cybaru »

I do hpe that is not true! We do need a engine for AMCA.
SaiK
BRF Oldie
Posts: 36424
Joined: 29 Oct 2003 12:31
Location: NowHere

Re: Kaveri & aero-engine discussion

Post by SaiK »

Insane decision. It is time to reorg.

If the report is wrong, charge sheet that dork media person.
rrao
BRFite
Posts: 196
Joined: 13 Feb 2007 22:17

Re: Kaveri & aero-engine discussion

Post by rrao »

SaiK wrote:^ from the link:
problem:-
Russian designed thermostat in the ARK-10 radio
compass unit became unreliable and difficult to
maintain due to chattering of contacts. The units are
unserviceable and the numbers of units for repair are
piling up day by day leading to alarming situation.
solution:-
SLRDC Engineers took up the challenge to resolve
the issue and successfully designed a suitable alternate
temperature control mechanism using readily available
Aerospace grade bi-metallic thermostats from
Honeywell.
Just wondering about the challenge here.
The temp control is for an oven controlled colpitts oscillator. The oscillator frequency depends on the inductance and capacitance values. The challenge is that any new object
introduced inside the enclosed oven controlled oscillator module , changes the frequency out of range. so it was a challenge to modify the temp control mechanism with out altering the frequency range and drift. The design belongs to our good old friends, who are presently screwing us.hope its clear!!!!
member_19648
BRFite
Posts: 265
Joined: 11 Aug 2016 06:13

Re: Kaveri & aero-engine discussion

Post by member_19648 »

I have been to GTRE a couple of times and it seems the org suffers from an acute union problem! Though I don't have much details about Kaveri as a project and only have knowledge from public sources, the 3 visits that I had weren't particularly on best occasions. On the first one, the employees (most probably the lower strata) had erected a huge shade infront of the main GTRE gate and were seemingly protesting against something. The whole gate was obstructed but people were moving in and out through the crowd itself. The second time, there were lots of slogans painted on the GTRE walls again protesting against something, what I gathered by reading them was about some election thing going on. The third time also, there was a small crowd infront of the gate (employees) with some agenda. Also, the premise doesn't seem to have very rigid security, in accordance to its criticality. How these things affect the work culture, I have no idea, can only hope that they don't. Maybe upgradation of the facility and better management can go a long way in solving the perils of GTRE.
Indranil
Forum Moderator
Posts: 8428
Joined: 02 Apr 2010 01:21

Re: Kaveri & aero-engine discussion

Post by Indranil »

^^^ OT
With public offices, I don't think that we will get any better than the snail's pace ... I am sorry to say this, but there needs to be much more personal gains/losses at stake than national interest for things to roll.
srai
BRF Oldie
Posts: 5247
Joined: 23 Oct 2001 11:31

Re: Kaveri & aero-engine discussion

Post by srai »

khukri wrote:India Scraps Domestic Jet Engine Plan

End of Kaveri for Tejas?
That report is misleading. We already know that for LCA Mk.2 99 F414 are on order and for Mk.1 it is F404. Nothing new here.

Kaveri is still in as far as AMCA, UAV and LCA Mk.3 (if there is a variant). So it's not an end of the road for Kaveri.
Yogi_G
BRF Oldie
Posts: 2412
Joined: 21 Nov 2008 04:10
Location: Punya Bhoomi -- Jambu Dweepam

Re: Kaveri & aero-engine discussion

Post by Yogi_G »

^^ OT sorry.

What was most shocking was the leader of the SC/ST union in BEML saying that Natarajan had not done anything for the SC/ST communities within BEML and they overjoyed to see him go. So this union business has become just like mainstream politics, appeasement needed all the time.
Singha
BRF Oldie
Posts: 66601
Joined: 13 Aug 2004 19:42
Location: the grasshopper lies heavy

Re: Kaveri & aero-engine discussion

Post by Singha »

france seems like one country where many of the aerospace and semi facilities are totally under Govt ownership as national facilities, and even the major "pvt" players like dassault, safran, mbda, snecma, thales have substantial govt ownership. even ariane contractors under Astrium likely have some govt fingers in the pie.

inspite of this sarkari model, they have delivered the goods in terms of a pipeline of innovative products and technologies.

has anyone studied why it works for france and not for us - is it people (salary,rentention issue) which can be fixed by throwing more money to match the pvt sector or some organizational/process thing?
srai
BRF Oldie
Posts: 5247
Joined: 23 Oct 2001 11:31

Re: Kaveri & aero-engine discussion

Post by srai »

^^^

When it comes to Military-Industrial-Complex, it is always a public-private partnership. Without huge support from the public sector, private sector can not thrive in the defense markets where R&D costs are astronomical and prone to delays/cost-overruns/cancellation/small quantities order. Profit margins may or may not exist because of the upfront investment required.
SaiK
BRF Oldie
Posts: 36424
Joined: 29 Oct 2003 12:31
Location: NowHere

Re: Kaveri & aero-engine discussion

Post by SaiK »

it is the right people in the right place. PERIOD.
tejas
BRFite
Posts: 768
Joined: 31 Mar 2008 04:47

Re: Kaveri & aero-engine discussion

Post by tejas »

I too noticed this aberration about France. I can not explain it. However, the model of govt ownership has clearly been a dismal failure in India. Unless you are an arms dealer, Indian politician or babu, then the system is a beauty to behold. If even small arms have to be imported, we need to choke, stab and behead the baby then throw it out with the bath water. The system needs to be completely re-built from the ground up not some piecemeal reforms. I am not holding my breath.
khukri
BRFite
Posts: 169
Joined: 28 Oct 2002 12:31

Re: Kaveri & aero-engine discussion

Post by khukri »

srai wrote:
khukri wrote:India Scraps Domestic Jet Engine Plan

End of Kaveri for Tejas?
That report is misleading. We already know that for LCA Mk.2 99 F414 are on order and for Mk.1 it is F404. Nothing new here.

Kaveri is still in as far as AMCA, UAV and LCA Mk.3 (if there is a variant). So it's not an end of the road for Kaveri.
It isn't misleading - read carefully - its the end of Kaveri for Tejas, not for other uses - UAV's are indicated in the article as well. Too early to make any definitive statements about AMCA or LCA Mk 3 - that last would seem doubtful if it continues as a single engine aircraft.
tejas
BRFite
Posts: 768
Joined: 31 Mar 2008 04:47

Re: Kaveri & aero-engine discussion

Post by tejas »

OT but look what the Home Ministry is importing from Sonia's homeland. It should be illegal to make something this ugly.

Image
tejas
BRFite
Posts: 768
Joined: 31 Mar 2008 04:47

Re: Kaveri & aero-engine discussion

Post by tejas »

Deleted for posting twice.
Last edited by tejas on 20 Jun 2012 00:56, edited 1 time in total.
hnair
Forum Moderator
Posts: 4635
Joined: 03 May 2006 01:31
Location: Trivandrum

Re: Kaveri & aero-engine discussion

Post by hnair »

er, the above assumptions about France's govt influence in defense corporates means khan, biscuits and germans do not have such influence (call it baliouts, senate-committees, oligarchical, monopoly, single-vendor...whatever) ? French becomes fairgame for khan psyops on "nationalized MIC", but both nations have the same bureaucratic meddling (board-nominees, bailouts, cut-throat budget cancels, scams etc), same snake-oil marketing types and same end-user lobbies.

The difference with India is this - they are willing to go out and hurt random nations. If their systems' fail or get outdated, their ability to threaten in future is gone. Hence the national consensus on getting things done, despite all of the above hurdles is good. Panda wants to be recognized as one such Guido-types and hence is panting for some years on a treadmill and doing dumpster diving for clues .

India has not yet shown any national consensus in becoming one. So we are just having C&C (chai and charminar) outside GTRE/whatnot and our phyjjiks package groups are referred to as "cottage industry". Highly competent boffins, but non-serious national establishment :lol:
SaiK
BRF Oldie
Posts: 36424
Joined: 29 Oct 2003 12:31
Location: NowHere

Re: Kaveri & aero-engine discussion

Post by SaiK »

I would like to know if voicing our concerns here in this thread is at least heard in the right ears at the gov. If it is not happening, then we are still in some bonded sense of firangi controls on key areas of required growth.

I see a scam in the way kaveri project is handled right from the beginning.. there must the super power world who are already supplying engines and parts to us, in the scheme of things.

absolutely, this is a wrong decision. /double emphasis
srai
BRF Oldie
Posts: 5247
Joined: 23 Oct 2001 11:31

Re: Kaveri & aero-engine discussion

Post by srai »

khukri wrote:
srai wrote:quote="khukri"India Scraps Domestic Jet Engine Plan

End of Kaveri for Tejas?/quote

That report is misleading. We already know that for LCA Mk.2 99 F414 are on order and for Mk.1 it is F404. Nothing new here.

Kaveri is still in as far as AMCA, UAV and LCA Mk.3 (if there is a variant). So it's not an end of the road for Kaveri.
It isn't misleading - read carefully - its the end of Kaveri for Tejas, not for other uses - UAV's are indicated in the article as well. Too early to make any definitive statements about AMCA or LCA Mk 3 - that last would seem doubtful if it continues as a single engine aircraft.
What's new about this? I mean we already knew LCA Mk.2 was not getting the Kaveri. Remember the competition a couple of years ago between F-414 and EJ-200 for 99 engines.
Victor
BRF Oldie
Posts: 2628
Joined: 24 Apr 2001 11:31

Re: Kaveri & aero-engine discussion

Post by Victor »

indranilroy wrote:^^^ OT
With public offices, I don't think that we will get any better than the snail's pace ... I am sorry to say this, but there needs to be much more personal gains/losses at stake than national interest for things to roll.
Correct. OT again but here is how it works in khan:

To be chosen a defense contractor, the supplier must have a successful track record of operations and a minimum technical QC rating. Unkil will favor those companies that have developed proprietary tech at their own risk and if chosen, will pay for that tech. Once contract is given, Khan picks up all development and tooling costs and guarantees a reasonable profit. Everything is done to ensure smooth progress of the contract, including a well laid out delivery schedule and advance payment for materials etc. There is minimal risk to the private vendor and govt business is the closest one can come to guaranteed profit in the private sector. Govt contractors have the inside track on future contracts going forward, mainly because they have become intimately familiar with the "mil specs". Unkil is integral to all operations starting with development of specs and design of parts and tooling and ending with testing, QC and shipping but it will not interfere with the running of the company. Govt engineers, contract specialists and private contractors are guided by the letter of very clearly written and unambiguous regulations and instructions at every stage and redundant paper/electronic trails are created. There is little scope for corruption. Contract specialists scrupulously avoid getting too chummy with contractors. This system is visible in everything from the F-35 to small arms.

I would suspect that the system is very much the same in France except that high-level chumminess probably plays a bigger part. Not a single major MIC today is purely government or private. They all operate on the principle of government providing direction and support and the private sector providing the expertise. The common thread is that there is no room for sycophancy or unanswerablity at any level and the sole determining factor is results and merit. Discipline is provided effectively in the private sector by the usual means and in dicktatorial regimes by the Gulag or a bullet in the head. India is the only country where the government runs everything and decades of delay, waste and non-performance are tolerated.

If the Kaveri has indeed been dropped, it is a positive sign and we may yet see an AMCA that joins the IAF in large numbers before it is obsolete. It will be as "Indian" as an Embraer plane is Brazilian. It is also a good sign that GoI has seemingly chosen not to window dress a Snecma core and call it Kaveri. Hopefully GTRE will continue working on jet engines but IMHO, it should be folded into a private-public company in which the government has minimal input besides putting in the money. Pay and perks should be BETTER than private industry if we want things to change in this critical area. GTRE (or whatever it is called then) should become an elite company that every top engineer in India or abroad wants to join.
SaiK
BRF Oldie
Posts: 36424
Joined: 29 Oct 2003 12:31
Location: NowHere

Re: Kaveri & aero-engine discussion

Post by SaiK »

sell Kaveri from GTRE off! tatas or mahindras could manage it... I am sure, there must be some change.. of course, gov needs to invest in test facilities etc. a 50-50 should attract them... now that will also ensure, they market Kaveri or renamed engine (better rename it to Firangi name) to IAF - upgrades for other a/cs.
tejas
BRFite
Posts: 768
Joined: 31 Mar 2008 04:47

Re: Kaveri & aero-engine discussion

Post by tejas »

The common thread is that there is no room for sycophancy or unanswerablity at any level and the sole determining factor is results and merit.
That my friend puts in a nutshell all that is wrong with complete govt ownership of business and why it is such a spectacular failure in India and everywhere else on this planet. BTW the GOI owns over 250 PSUs. I cannot imagine the waste and incompetence within these entities. We have BEL and ECIL South Korea has Samsung :( :( :(
Indranil
Forum Moderator
Posts: 8428
Joined: 02 Apr 2010 01:21

Re: Kaveri & aero-engine discussion

Post by Indranil »

^^^ You seem to have read a certain book by a certain Atanu Dey. Okay enough of OT for the day from me. Back to Kaveri discussions.
Vivek K
BRF Oldie
Posts: 2931
Joined: 15 Mar 2002 12:31

Re: Kaveri & aero-engine discussion

Post by Vivek K »

In all its years of existence since 1959, has GTRE produced anything that has gone into serial production?
Victor
BRF Oldie
Posts: 2628
Joined: 24 Apr 2001 11:31

Re: Kaveri & aero-engine discussion

Post by Victor »

Believe it or not, in the early 60s GTRE was near state of the art in jet engines. The decline has been spectacular thanks entirely to the PSU culture of India.
Vivek K
BRF Oldie
Posts: 2931
Joined: 15 Mar 2002 12:31

Re: Kaveri & aero-engine discussion

Post by Vivek K »

So did GTRE produce a working mass produced engine in the 60s?
Austin
BRF Oldie
Posts: 23387
Joined: 23 Jul 2000 11:31

Re: Kaveri & aero-engine discussion

Post by Austin »

As long as they have not produced a flight qualified engine which is to say flown the engine in actual fighter aircraft for stipulated hours to get the engine and aircraft certified with each other , it really means nothing in actual terms.

We can have all the engine running on grounds based test rigs or on test platforms like Il-76 but the proof of the pudding is getting it flight qualified and proven.

Even proven engine from established manufacturer like Saturn 117 had to be certified for Su-35 even though they were developed from proven breed of AL-31 engine but with new hot parts.
SaiK
BRF Oldie
Posts: 36424
Joined: 29 Oct 2003 12:31
Location: NowHere

Re: Kaveri & aero-engine discussion

Post by SaiK »

There's a bit of overlap that needs sorting out though. In 2007, HAL had revealed that it was developing a "twin spool turbofan engine to power a cruise missile under design". It had gone on to say that that "ETBRDC will jointly develop this engine with NAL and GTRE. The engine is small; the technology involved is as complex as any bigger engine. Since the usage is for missile application, no external help can be sought and the engine has to be wholly indigenous. This is a challenging task and ETBRDC is confident that it can meet the challenge." (Was HAL talking about the Laghu Shakti? Possibly. The new 20kN engine effort was only announced in February this year.)
http://www.bharat-rakshak.com/NEWS/news ... wsid=19096

Bull.. technology complexity is there in all spheres.. the kind of risk Kaveri has is entirely different.. a human loss and machine loss is something different. a human loss is more catastrophic than machine loss.

safety critical system engineering has advanced so much into the future, that these orgs have to be re-organized.. perhaps sent abroad for engineering and managment studies, with tie-ups only for educating these men.

it is time kalam saab takes a peek here.
Will
BRFite
Posts: 637
Joined: 28 Apr 2011 11:27

Re: Kaveri & aero-engine discussion

Post by Will »

Might as well close this thread :( :( :(
SaiK
BRF Oldie
Posts: 36424
Joined: 29 Oct 2003 12:31
Location: NowHere

Re: Kaveri & aero-engine discussion

Post by SaiK »

^closing the thread cause more harm than solve problems.. it would paint an "L" sign on our foreheads.
Vivek K
BRF Oldie
Posts: 2931
Joined: 15 Mar 2002 12:31

Re: Kaveri & aero-engine discussion

Post by Vivek K »

GTRE/DRDO/HAL/IAF have all failed us by not producing a worthwhile engine in over 5 decades. It needn't have been superdeedooper but a good, reliable engine that performed well in a testing platform - Mig-29 for example as one of its engines. But GTRE must not be closed. It must be re-organized and the work-culture examined. A PSU that feels it is OK to produce nothing for 5 decades will need to be thoroughly re-organized. The brains of the organization must be chanelled under new talent that is hired from around the globe (NRIs/bright persons in HALs Engine Division) and put under dynamic leadership.
svinayak
BRF Oldie
Posts: 14223
Joined: 09 Feb 1999 12:31

Re: Kaveri & aero-engine discussion

Post by svinayak »

Victor wrote:Believe it or not, in the early 60s GTRE was near state of the art in jet engines. The decline has been spectacular thanks entirely to the PSU culture of India.
Looks like it was targetted by western country to put India behind.
One can find that there were lot of visitors to India facilities from early 60s from western countries.
They could assess Indian progress and come up with sanctions and sabotage. Even third countries were targted not to cooperate with India.

This is one of the deepest global sabotage ever done in history.
Singha
BRF Oldie
Posts: 66601
Joined: 13 Aug 2004 19:42
Location: the grasshopper lies heavy

Re: Kaveri & aero-engine discussion

Post by Singha »

it may have been state of art in facilities, but lets face it - we had never produced a piston- engine family during the WW1 and WW2 era where all the western powers, japan and russia had done so. and they had moved on to building original jet engines. HAL exp was limited to overhauling of some a/c types in WW2. you can see old pics of this in the HAL museum. the country had no experience in producing state of art weapons and neither anything in domestic engineering product design even in the civilian sector.

just a swank lab is not enough, you need the people and design & product history too. otherwise china would have leapfrogged decades and be a tech leader in many fields by now, looking at the money on the table for anyone who wants to return to china in selected fields and work there in univs and govt labs.
SaiK
BRF Oldie
Posts: 36424
Joined: 29 Oct 2003 12:31
Location: NowHere

Re: Kaveri & aero-engine discussion

Post by SaiK »

which is fine.. we can't go back and erase history. but what we are doing is repeating the same mistake, by closing shop on indigenous development efforts..

make no mistake here.. Kaveri is hot bed core for all our future engine aspirations.. it is insanity in our approach to just ignore this puppy, and look at totally accepting defeat. From DRDO, we demand an apology for mismanagement and restart the venture with fresh impetus.

GTRE must be disbanded... they are leaving us to swim back to land after coming a long way from home on Kaveri.. right now we are almost 200 nautical miles swimming in deep ocean. this is going to titanic failure of sorts, if we just drop it like hot potato.

yes, we need to progress step by step.. but steps can miss, and struggle to come up.. that is fine. but, suddenly losing everything, and saying our disease is incurable is not acceptable.

we need second opinion.. chose a different doc.

just think like history makers and innovators.. creating it all for the first time.. and that is how history was made, and can be made as well. it feels like 1971 chinese defeat on kaveri now.

there is a deep lack in understanding here.
tejas
BRFite
Posts: 768
Joined: 31 Mar 2008 04:47

Re: Kaveri & aero-engine discussion

Post by tejas »

A company is in existence for SIX DECADES and does not produce a single functioning product. Can this be possible anywhere but Yindia? Some people here are talking of re-organizing GTRE. What is needed now is a complete and radical change in how weapons/propulsion systems etc are designed and produced. We need competing bureaus and their must be financial penalties/incentives to maintain time guidelines and quality. PSUs need not apply. Unless we want to continue importing even small arms as we do now, the current set up needs to be buried.

Isn't funny how India's mediocre PSUs constantly need ToT from private companies who have been in business for less time then the PSU has? The Goa shipyard needs ToT to produce minesweepers from a South Korean company that has been producing defense vessels for 20 years less then Goa has,

I hear no talk of revolutionary change from the powers that be. Just we will stand by our PSUs because they have always been there for us type nonsense.
Last edited by tejas on 21 Jun 2012 08:52, edited 1 time in total.
vic
BRF Oldie
Posts: 2412
Joined: 19 May 2010 10:00

Re: Kaveri & aero-engine discussion

Post by vic »

It seems HAL has created a requirement of another import in the form of an 20kn turbofan engine.

http://livefist.blogspot.in/2012/06/now ... bofan.html

The point is AL-55 is supposed to be 17 kn with versions between 14 to 35kn. Considering that we are making AL-31 from raw material stage, we are paying another USD 450 million for AL-55, how come another similar engine tech is required to be imported?
Vivek K
BRF Oldie
Posts: 2931
Joined: 15 Mar 2002 12:31

Re: Kaveri & aero-engine discussion

Post by Vivek K »

Acharya - why didn't similar sabotage hit ADA, ISRO, Arjun designers? Lets face it - we failed in the task. The victim mentality suits our neighbors better. We can still use the work done with better resources and management.
Singha
BRF Oldie
Posts: 66601
Joined: 13 Aug 2004 19:42
Location: the grasshopper lies heavy

Re: Kaveri & aero-engine discussion

Post by Singha »

engine tech and materials being a esoteric body of science, high quality talent is likely thin on the ground worldwide, so only a separate venture like say brahmos inc would be free of govt payscales and union politics to hire and put to work the best of what we have and any bideshi consultants that need to be pulled in. I believe thats how the russians who work in brahmos get paid.

hoping to reform GTRE through tweaks is not going to work for sure. its physical infra might be reused.

admin & financial control should be under a pvt industrial consortium with govt stake also, not 100% govt for sure.
Post Reply